Write Down Your Goals & Create Plans
I am a dreamer—or at least I have been for most of my life. It’s not that I wouldn’t call myself a dreamer these days, but I have the joy (and in some ways privilege) of saying I’ve accomplished the vast majority of everything I’ve ever reasonably endeavoured to do.
Accomplishing the things you dream of is incredibly rewarding in some circumstances and sort of disappointing in others. It really depends on what you were trying to do, and how rosy coloured your glasses were before making it there.
Never Being Happy
Here’s a common problem I see among tons of people I know: they’re never happy. I’m not saying that with pessimism: I’m just making an observation.
Most of us want something, but many of us only want something subconsciously, and we haven’t stopped long enough to clearly articulate that want to anyone; many times, not even to ourselves.
I’m here to argue that the “haven’t even told myself what I want” is all too common an issue, and it’s one of the key ingredients in being unhappy.
Think of it this way:
Disappointment and unhappiness are a result of having bigger expectations than what reality has brought us. But if we don’t actually analyze our expectations (or take the time to spell them out), it’s no wonder most things never meet or exceed them.
SMART Goals
Chances are, at some point in your life you’ve probably heart of SMART goals: an acronym for effective goal setting. Here’s the breakdown if you’re unfamiliar or need a refresher (note that the words vary slightly depending on who you ask):
S - Specific - No room for being vague about what you want here
M - Measurable - Put numbers and metrics on your goal (arguably the most important)
A - Achievable - Swing for the fence, yes, but only if you have the power to get the ball there
R - Relevant - Does this goal move you in the direction you want your (life, career) to go?
T - Timely - Set an “achieve by” date or else it’ll become a passing thought
Now - am I saying you need to make every goal in your life a SMART goal? Not at all. I certainly don’t.
But I believe—deeply—that there is immense value in putting your hopes and dreams into these categories.
Write Down the Benefits of Your Goal
However obvious the benefits may feel right now, write them down because they’re going to come in handy later. You won’t always remember the good things that you’re going to gain when you achieve this goal. It seems unlikely right now, but I’m totally serious.
You need to have—in big bold letters—the reason why you’re even doing this.
Don’t just write down the big benefits. Write down every little one; however frivolous or personal. You might find the list of benefits longer than you originally thought, and you don’t know what one’s going to help keep you on track when the going gets tough later.
Make a Plan
Ok - here’s the next step when you’ve gone ahead and written down your goal.
Work backwards from where you want to be to where you are right now, and identify (however difficult) how to get from A to Z.
For a lot of people, the prospect of doing this is terrifying. I get it: when you’re at the beginning of trying to accomplish something really big, it can feel hopeless to even start.
Get over that.
Writing down every step of the process will hopefully allow you to see that some steps are easier than others. You can hopefully group your goal into phases that feel a bit more manageable. Especially if you can somehow set rewards for yourself after each major phase of your goal, you’re hopefully going to help re-motivate yourself to keep going.
Anticipate Roadblocks
Anything you want is going to have things you don’t want to do standing in the way. Otherwise you would’ve done it already (because it was easy) and it’s not a goal lol. By definition, a goal involves overcoming something.
All of that was a longwinded way of telling you to expect things to get difficult. You’re going to face challenges you haven’t even thought of yet. You’re going to face challenges you can’t even anticipate until you start.
That’s normal.
Don’t let it demotivate you.
You’re not going to have any easy time doing what it is you want to do. But in my experience, nothing valuable ever came easy, and almost nothing that came easy is valuable.
Expect Wavering Motivation
It’s easy, at the beginning of a goal, to feel highly motivated and enthusiastic. This is great: ride this wave of inspiration, but know upfront that it’ll eventually cease to exist.
Expect things to get (or at least feel) worse at some point. You will hit a point where you begin to reconsider if your goal was worthwhile, or if you made a mistake in biting off more than you can chew.
This is normal. Don’t let it de-motivate you. Anticipate it. Don’t be surprised when it happens (because it will!).
Wavering in our commitments is super normal (I am so guilty of this) and we think that our mixed emotions on something is a sign we should stop and re-evaluate. We are too soft and trusting of ourselves, and can’t for a second imagine that current state of mind might be the enemy of our past and future selves.
Well, imagine it, folks. It happens more often than you think you do.
Speaking Your Goals Aloud
I’m not a real karma-believing, “put something out into the universe and see if it comes back” type of guy, but I do believe there are tangible, practical reasons to then talk about your goals and dreams openly with people around you.
The more people that know about your dreams, the greater likelihood someone in your network might be able to move the needle in your direction from time to time
The more people that know about your dreams, the more likely you are to commit to fulfilling them (fear of failure is one of the greatest motivators. People hate failing)
In summary
It’s hard to hit a moving target.
If you want to find success and happiness, start by knowing what it is that will bring that to you. Writing it down is a method of formalizing your pursuit of it, and envisioning what that might actually mean when you get started.
This stuff really isn’t that difficult if you break it down. I think you’ll find you are considerably more capable than you think if you take a run at it.
Here’s a Goal of Mine
I’m going to put my money where my mouth is, get vulnerable, and share a goal of mine with you; putting into practice all of the things I’ve just gone on about.
NAME OF MY GOAL:
Get a job promotion that earns me $(redacted) in salary every year
SMART GOAL SETTING:
Specific: A job promotion that still involves Marketing & other project management
Measurable: An increase in salary of $(redacted) over my current one
Achievable: Something I see opportunity in, something my boss agrees with
Relevant: To my greater goals of providing a good life—first and foremost—for my wife and kids
Timely: I want to accomplish this within 2 years of my employment start date
BENEFITS OF THIS GOAL:
Put my kids in private school
Afford for my wife not to work (indefinitely)
More disposable income
Bigger contributions to RRSPs, investments, RESPs for the kids
More job security
Acquiring more skills to bring to any other job
POTENTIAL ROADBLOCKS:
This would be a completely new job position. Resistance may be encountered in establishing its validity
Additional demands on my time
Needing to find a replacement for my current job position
Heightened responsibility = heightened pressure
SPEAK THIS GOAL ALOUD:
Talk to my manager about my intentions
Talk to my wife about my intentions
Talk to my department about my intentions
Talk to my friends about my intentions
